Health Canada has approved the first oral medication for COVID-19 that can be taken by patients at home.
Pfizer’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid will be restricted to adults with mild or moderate COVID-19 who are also at high risk of becoming more seriously ill.
The federal government has purchased one-million courses of the treatment for delivery this year, and Pfizer says it is ready to start immediate delivery.
But supplies will be limited for a while, so chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is asking provinces and territories to prioritize the highest-risk patients for the drug.